PAFA talks zombies and corpses at 'Art in Process'

Wednesday, March 18, PAFA will host a roundtable discussion on Zombie Formalism for "Art in Process," a program that takes a look at how art is created. The term was coined by critic and writer Walter Robinson in 2014 to describe a trend among abstract artists to rely on previous work for inspiration. 

The discussion, led by PAFA MFA student Jillian Schley and PAFA alumna and student life coordinator Tiffany Tate, will touch on the tension between originality and influence, whether emerging artists should react to the market and whether the burden of innovation lies with artists, collectors, curators or academics.

Also on Wednesday, PAFA's "Art School Mixer" will bring together students from PAFA and schools all over Philadelphia for Exquisite Corpse. Created in the 1920s, Exquisite Corpse is an art game of sorts. An artist creates their own work on a piece of paper before folding it up and passing it along to the next artist, who adds their own touch. At the end of the event, the works will be unfolded and combined to create one big project.